Turkey’s southern provinces have recorded the sharpest increase in weekly COVID-19 cases, data given by a top senior official has shown.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca disclosed the weekly figures of COVID-19 cases throughout the country recorded between Nov. 20 and 26.
The figures show that the southern province of Osmaniye had 600 cases per 100,000 people, while neighboring Adana and Hatay provinces followed it with 416 and 347, respectively.
The southern province of Mersin recorded 345 cases per 100,000 people.
In Turkey’s largest and most populous provinces, Istanbul led again with 287 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people, while the capital Ankara recorded 202 cases and the Aegean province of İzmir recorded 70 cases.
“The number of cases fell below 20,000 with great efforts and dedication. Making this permanent depends on our determination to fight,” Koca tweeted.
Koca also stressed that jabs should be made immediately and precautions should not be compromised.